Berkshire East Ski Resort is a medium-sized alpine ski area in the northeastern United States, located in the Berkshires on Mount Institute in Charlemont and Hawley, Massachusetts. History Thunder Mountain Ski Area Organized skiing started on Mt. Institute in the mid-1950s when Arthur Parker opened a small rope tow operation. Due to weather and other difficulties, it closed after one short season. Parker spent the balance of the decade gathering investors for a much larger operation on the same mountain. The first double chairlift, a Mueller, was installed for the grand re-opening 1961-62 season. A second double chairlift, another Mueller, was installed in 1962. Notable skiers during this time included former Massachusetts Governor Endicott Peabody and U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy. New ownership took over in late 1965, changing the name to Berkshire East at the end of the decade. Berkshire East Ski Resort The ownership group struggled, trying a variety of ill-fated expansion plans. By 1975, Berkshire East was bankrupt and outdated with two partially installed chairlifts and two antiquated Mueller chairlifts. Current management soon took over and began a steady series of investments. A Hall double chairlift was installed in 1978. A fourth chairlift, an SLI, was also installed in the late 1970s. In 1995, the first Mueller double chairlift was replaced with a Poma triple chairlift. A Hall double chairlift was added in 2001. In 2003, the second Mueller double chairlift was replaced with a Borvig-Leitner quad chairlift. In 2008, Berkshire East replaced a novice handle tow with a magic carpet lift. As of 2008, the ski area has 45 trails and five lifts, in addition to the tubing slope and lift. Berkshire East is currently the only alpine ski area in Franklin County open to the public. In 2010, the Diamond Express Hall double chairlift (1978) was replaced with a Poma triple chairlift. In 2011, the ski area added a PowerWind 56 900 kW wind turbine. This addition, makes Berkshire East the first ski area in the world to be 100% powered by onsite renewable energy. In 2014, the Summit Triple lift (1995) was replaced by a brand new SkyTrac quad chairlift with a moving carpet loading area. The new lift will run at a faster speed than typical fixed grip lifts with a moving carpet that moves skiers into the loading area and assists with loading onto the faster moving chairs. The old Poma Summit Triple